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Wednesday, 31 December 2014

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and that you all have a few new crafty toys to play with!
I had a fab and very busy time which is why I haven't been around to visit you much but I'm back into the usual routine now and will be popping by very soon!

Christmas may be over for another year but I still have a few more Christmas cards to share with you!

I know I have already shown you several cards with this image but it really is my favourite as it works on all styles of cards; male/female, fancy/CAS. Oh, and it is soooo cute!

I didn't have a template, I just decided what size box I needed and built up the sides of the box with 2 layers of cardboard to make it really sturdy.

I left some small flaps at the bottom of the box so it could be attached to the base then covered the inside of the base with another piece of card.
I decorated the sides with pretty paper, some die cut corners, lace, twine and flowers.

Then the naughty bit...some salted caramel mocha fudge to go inside...mmmmmm!
If I've tempted you to have a go at making some of this delicious fudge yourself then you can find the recipe here!

Tuesday, 9 December 2014

It's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and our theme this time is...

INSPIRED BY SOMETHING IN YOUR HOME

This is a really lovely theme as there are so many options; something you love the colours of, an object that is really special to you or maybe just something really really boring that you can make into something much better...

That's what I was thinking when I stumbled upon a big bag of pegs. Now, I don't have a washing line so haven't used these for about 10 years but I was so excited to rediscover them and had lots of ideas going through my head as to what I could do with them.

I knew exactly what colour I wanted to use (lol!) and I wanted them to have a slightly shabby chic feel with just a little cute embellishment so here's what I came up with;

I took the liberty of creating a little photo tutorial for you as I went along, just in case anyone else wants to have a go at this... and why wouldn't you?!

First I painted the pegs with one coat of white acrylic paint. I took the pegs apart to do this so I could get into all the cracks. I didn't worry too much about the flat outside sections as these were going to be covered by paper.

Then I cut little strips of different co-ordinating papers - use up those scraps people!

I trimmed each piece of paper to exactly the right size for each individual peg as I went along and glued them down with tacky PVA. I put a little glue on the peg like this;

Then I spread it out with my finger so the whole area was covered and pressed the paper strip on top, smoothing it down firmly.

Now, these looked a little too pristine for my liking so I used very fine sandpaper to sand the edges of each paper strip which gives a nice finish and makes the strip kind of 'blend into' the edges of the peg.

I then put the pegs back together and added the finishing touch with a die cut flower and paper rose on each one.

I brushed some Wink of Stella over the roses which gives them a gorgeous subtle sparkle.. too subtle for the camera maybe?!

I think these would be nice with magnets on the back to pop on your fridge or maybe with drawing pins on the back so they could be pushed into a cork board.

Sunday, 30 November 2014

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I certainly did although it involved more drinking and dancing with friends than crafting!

I said I had lots of cards to share with you and it will be no surprise that a lot of them are Christmas cards!
This one is using the absolutely stunning new DP collction from Maja Design; I think the red/grey/white colour scheme is so elegant; I have used mainly the white and pale grey papers here.

Yes, that is a new Tilda! I managed to keep to my resolution of just buying one stamp from the latest collection and this was a stand out favourite for me.

I opted for something a little different to my usual 3D paper flowers to embellish and cut these poinsettias with my Cricut from the lovely red DP.

Thursday, 27 November 2014

I seem to have developed a thing recently for having several cards on the go at once. It was getting a bit silly when I had 7, yes 7, half finished cards on my desk... and I was running out of space to craft in!
So, I have finished 5 of the 7 cards and consequently will have lots to share with you over the next few weeks :-)

First up is my card for our new challenge at In The Pink and our theme this time is...

DIE CUTS AND/OR PUNCHES

I have made a buckle card and if you want more details of how to make one of these, check out my tutorial here.
The die cut swirl I have used is a firm favourite of mine especially as you can cut it up to fit where you want it and create slightly different shapes.

The 'buckle' slides out from under the image panel like so...

The inside is decorated both to look pretty and to hide the buckle mechanism.

I used my fave little bear, sweet James from LOTV, and I'm sorry to say this rubber stamp has now been discontinued :-(

The fishtails for the sentiment were cut by hand and I used foam pads to add some dimension to them.

Thursday, 13 November 2014

It's time for a new challenge at In The Pink and our theme this month is...

KISS

(that's Keep It Sweet & Simple!)

I really haven't been making many cards lately that could be considered KISS although it is a style I love. So, I did something completely different for me and used up lots of scraps of DP as well!

I rolled each paper strip quite tightly so the tree is quite sturdy and popped the star and pot on foam pads then sprinkled on a few pearls and enamel dots.
The teeny letters are from a stamp set that came free with a magazine and they have come in very handy a few times now!

About Me

Hello and welcome to my blog!
I live in Gloucestershire with my lovely husband and work 4 days a week as a hospital pharmacist. When I'm not working I can usually be found in my craft room or in the garden.
I hope you enjoy seeing my creations :-)